According to an old definition ‘lectins are carbohydrate-binding proteins or glycoproteins.’ William Boyd therefore coined the term lectin in 1954, deriving it from the Latin word legere meaning ‘to choose.’ Boyd was also the first researcher to identify the blood type specificity of many common dietary lectins.

Typically, lectins can bind to many of the carbohydrate antigens found in the gut and immune system, causing a variety of health problems. These can include intestinal dysbiosis, bowel hyperpermiability, immune dysfunction, food sensitivities and systemic inflammation. This is usually accomplished by direct agglutination of the target cells. Lectins can occur in very common foods in the diet, and the majority are specific for the carbohydrates of the ABO blood typing system. In one study, the edible parts of 29 of 88 foods tested, including common salad ingredients, fresh fruits, roasted nuts, and processed cereals were found to possess significant lectin-like activity as assessed by hemagglutination and bacterial agglutination assays. (2)

Several common lectins, in particular, wheat germ agglutinin, are known to bind to the insulin receptor and mimick the hormonal effects of insulin on adipose tissue, an under-appreciated action which can account for why individuals on high carbohydrate diets often have difficulty contolling their weight. Thus, lectin blocking is a safe and rational method for enhancing weight loss.

In the words of one lectin researcher:

“Most lectins in our diet are resistant to breakdown during gut passage and are bound and endocytosed by epithelial cells. These lectins are powerful exogenous growth factors for the small intestine, can induce dramatic shifts in its bacterial flora and interfere with its hormone secretion. In addition, lectins which are transported across the gut wall into the systemic circulation can modulate the body's hormone balance, metabolism and health. Although these physiological effects are mediated or reinforced by immune responses, they are primarily the result of the specific chemical reactivity of lectins with cell surface receptors of the gut.” (3)

What is DEFLECT?

DEFLECT is a natural product composed of ‘blocking sugars’ designed to interfere with the adherence of troublesome dietary lectins. Since many lectins are ABO blood type specific, there are 4 different DEFLECT formulas: one for each blood type. The blocking sugars in DEFLECT can be considered ‘sacrifical molecules’ that attach to carbohydrate receptors on the lectins, rendering them unable to bind to the cells of the body.

The DEFLECT formulas provide a source of free blocking amino sugars (blue) which bind and block lectins before they can attach to the cells.

Since each blood type is succeptible to lectins with different carbohydrate specificities, Dr. D’Adamo designed formulas to block lectins by using mono and poly saccharides specific for each blood type.

Now, North American Pharmacal® introduces its new DEFLECT™ line of dietary supplements designed by the distinguished naturopath Dr. Peter D’Adamo, author of the best-selling book Eat Right 4 Your Type. DEFLECT™ products provide anti-adhesive therapy to lectin sensitive individuals. These ABO specific formulas block the effects of dietary lectins before they cause damage, by providing a source of free blocking carbohydrate. Since each blood type is susceptible to lectins with different carbohydrate specificities, we’ve designed formulas which block lectins by using mono and polysaccharides specific for each blood type. DEFLECT™ products are also an excellent source of soluble and insoluble fiber for that particular blood type.

1. Deflect isn't going to allow you to regularly consume avoids any more than a bullet-proof vest can't protect your head, arms or legs. It may have some value as a 'morning-after' pill, but beyond that I would not posit...

2. It is used to primarily repair lectin damage, typically by lowering the activity of lectins in the gut and blood. Some lectins are are not food derived (such as bacteria, Candida, pollen, or even our own immune systems) and dietary avoidance will not inhibit them.

3. One way this repair mechanism works is by 'prying off' lectins which have already adhered to cellular receptors, such as insulin. Since insulin blockage by dietary lectins has been linked to both insulin resistance and obesity, using DEFLECT can help accelerate weight reduction in diet-compliant individuals by speeding up the time it takes for the regeneration of new insulin receptors or the 'cleansing' of the old ones. This can take upwards of one year in some individuals who just follow the diet, and explains why some dieters do not see weight loss in the early stages of the program. It is because of this 'lectin-locking' function that many other diets (which do have accelerated weight loss in their early stages) cause their followers to lose muscle mass and fat -when what we want is to lose only the fat. If the weight loss in ER4YT is occasionally slow, at least it is healthy: Losing only body fat means that that a person's weight loss can sometimes be only 50% as rapid as other programs which are destroying muscle and fat. The problem is that muscle is hard to get back, and any drop in muscle mass results in a lower metabolic rate, leaving the dieter more likely to gain back the weight, but this time only in body fat.

4. Many lectins can amplify the effects of auto-immune disease, such as thyroiditis, rheumatoid arthritis, schleroderma, fibromylagia and pemphigus. Research shows that some of the lectins which can cause this may actually be manufactured by the body itself (serum lectins). By acting as sacrificial molecules, Deflect can block this action.

5. Many people with 'food sensitivities' or 'leaky gut' have a phenomena called 'active endocytosis' where prior lectin damage results in an intestinal absorption surface that actively scoops up macromolecules. Because these larger molecules are very antigenic, then tend to increase local inflammation and thus increase the leaky gut. Again, by acting like 'sacrifical molecules' Deflect can block this, while also inhibiting bacterial adhesion to the gut as well (bacteria use their own lectins to attach to the intestines) a secondary cause of leaky gut. The amino sugars in DEFLECT can also help prevent re-infection by H. pylorri and many gram-negative bacteria which cause bladder infections, by flooding their own lectin receptors, thereby preventing adhesion, the first step needed for infection.

6. The amino sugars in Deflect encourage healthy bowel flora, although they do not provide a source of flora themselves. These same amino sugars are healthy enhancers of joint gliding surface and synovia as well.

January was an extraordinarily challenging and busy month for us. The GenoType Diet launched as well as the supporting product line. We faced tremendous challenge at NAP, as we had to launch 22 products concurrently, which is quite a daunting task for a large company, nonetheless a small one like us! Each of our departments has been has been stretched to the max, from Javier Caceres in product development, who had innumerable changes with the labels; Alonso Martinez and the shipping department, who not only had to figure out how to ship the products, but where to put them! We had to clear out an entire room that is now a sea of blue bottled products. Jon Humberstone and Keith McBride have had the triple challenges of working on the design and launch of the new webstore along with a new order entry system; the development of the sales and marketing materials and plans that go along with a new product launch (and remember, times 22!), and the continuation of the sales and marketing support for the Right 4 Your Type line. We’ve also kept Don St. John busy, as he has provided invaluable feedback and error trapping on the GenoType Diet website (www.genotypediet.com), so that we can assist Waterfront Media in refining the recipes to meet another level of compliance with the diet.

I think we all are thrilled to welcome in February and the move from transition to stabilization. Getting some time to wrap up the existing projects and move into stage 2. This is important not only for the company but for each one of us as well. I’ve been taking my Hunter products, along with some of daily regulars (Deflect, Polyflora, Phytocal). I’ve also been taking a lot of Tranquility Base , which is really such a wonderful product, designed to provide mental and physical relaxation. It’s effect is subtle, and it has been my constant companion these last two months!

New to our product line is Genoma Skin Care, which has been something Peter has wanted to design for a long time. Designed to reduce the effects of glycation on the skin, the crème is a great addition to my skin care routine. It’s light enough to use under make up, and I can see the cumulative difference in my skin from using this product over the past two months. A special nod to Keith for taking Peter’s vision and sourcing a clean, additive free product using only wild-crafted or organic botanicals.

As always, your feedback is important to us. Let us know how you are doing, and thanks for sharing this journey to individualization with us.

Time is flying! Thanks to all of you who have reached out to me and NAP over the last month with your good thoughts and wishes as well as your great questions about how The GenoType Diet and The Blood Type Diet relate to each other. In our sequential, linear thought process, it would be easy to think that one diet follows the other and supercedes it. But it doesn’t work quite that way in nutritional genomics and in the world of Peter D'Adamo!

The Blood Type Diet is and will always be the foundation of the process of individualizing nutrition and health care. Through the BTD, we’ve been able to treat ourselves as individuals as well as witness the power of genetics in a simplified fashion. This is because blood type is a genetic marker, and many of the gene linkages to blood type contribute to our predispositions to wellness, illness, health, and vitality.

Over the past ten years, Peter has continued to look at this genetic connection, and his research has led him on a path of deepening the BTD, and the result is the GenoType Diet. When you read the book, you’ll see that instead of the four blood types, it has expanded to six GenoTypes, which allows for further distinctions in diet, in supplementation, in health and lifestyle recommendation and in providing the opportunity for all of us to explore the possibility of intergenerational medicine. This gives us the capacity to affect not only our own health but also that of the future generations of our families by implementing some key (and fairly easy to follow) lifestyle and nutritional changes.

Once of my favorite passages in the GTD is when Peter discusses the possibilities of epigenetics, which is our ability to change our gene function:

“What if I told you that in four generations you and your immediate descendants could change the epigenetic patterns of inheritance in your family line and eliminate diabetes, heart disease and some forms of cancer?”

A provocative question that he then responds to with, “Think about it. If we can imprint bad stuff through lack of attention or ignorance, can we, with knowledge, just as easily imprint good things as well? Your grandchildren could be the first to parent that new generation of epigenetically healthy children.”

I love the concept that we have the power to affect our family lines. I look at our two daughters and hope that the steps we take today can help them lead healthy, vital lives, and that they in turn can pass this on to their children and beyond. And I hope to live a long time in good health and age gracefully so I can witness this!

It’s that funny mixture that many of us share -- wanting to change the world and needing to shed a few pounds and age well. And I believe that the GenoType Diet provides the insight into how to do this.

It’ll be a busy month for us as we prepare for the book launch and the website launch (www.genotypediet.com), and a series of new companion products to the book (www.genotypestore.com). Over the next few weeks, we’ll share more information about the products, but for now, I want to wish you all a happy, and healthy December. May you end the year with good spirits and good health, and may you welcome in a new year that brings much joy, happiness and self-expression.

It’s been a busy and productive time for us, which also means that it’s not without it challenges. We’ve been focused on developing the software and website for launching the new Share Right and PharmaShare programs, both designed to support community building with our customers as well as a way for us to say 'thank you'. We expect that you will be able to begin participating in Share Right if you are an individual or PharmaShare if you are a professional by the end of November. To get more information about how to sign up or the benefits for our Share Right consumer program, click on this link: Share Right

For professionals, we are mailing a detailed package about the Pharmashare program and the development of Epigenic Research, our professional line. The Epigenic Research website is up (thanks Peter!) The Epigenic Website, and it gives you a comprehensive look at the product line and the support materials and research behind it. Over the next two weeks we’ll be updating the site to include a link to the Pharmashare program on line, so stay tuned.

We’ve also had to take a good, hard look at our product inventory, as we carry a tremendous number of products. You may have noticed that we have discontinued a few items in order to allow us to focus on the more individualized and unique products in the line. There are a few of the discontinued ones that are in reformulation, most particularly UDA Plus and Urtica Dioca. Once we have these worked out, we will let you know.

As you know, The GenoType Diet is being published in December by Broadway Books in New York. It’s been a long, intense time period of research for Peter, with the end result being a natural extension of blood type and a deepening of our understanding of ourselves as unique beings. The book goes on sale on December 26. We will be sending out special insider emails and mailings to you offering special discounts to our BTD friends. If you don’t receive one of these by the middle of November, please call the office.

As Peter wrapped up writing The GenoType Diet, our focus turned towards the support materials our customers will need as they learn about his continuing explorations into individualized and personalized healthcare and nutrition. We are deeply involved in taking his concepts and formulations and creating a line of support products that will compliment and enhance the blood type basics and allow you to enhance your daily health and maintenance protocols. Over the upcoming weeks, you will be hearing more about our plans, so make sure to check back on the site for updates.

One opportunity that is new for us is our affiliation with a group called Waterfront Media, an Internet site developer, who will be producing The GenoType Diet support site. This site will provide both free content as well as subscription services for dieting, meal planning and overall support of following the diet. We expect that the site will be launching by the middle to end of December, and we’ll keep you up to date as we get closer to the date.

There’s lot’s happening, and we are committed to doing a better job of keeping you up to date! As always, please feel free to check in and contact me if there’s anything you’d like to share. I always love to hear from you.

Busy times at NAP. With the arrival spring, we are fast at work on finalizing our plans for our first time ever, professional products line that we will be launching at IfHI in May. It is an enormous undertaking for us as we reformulate and restructure our products for this line, and in the process, we are finding ourselves looking at our complete product line and evaluating how we can make it better for our customers.

Customers are our number one priority at NAP, and we have continued with our customer service enhancement features. These include the on-going upgrade of our order entry system, our on-line webstore , and our customer service support. You’ll see this support in better efficiency in handling your orders; in more shipping options; in the development of better product support data and information ; and through the launches of customer service support chats on-line that will be launched throughout the spring. Our mission is to provide uniquely designed products, the highest level of customer service and sales support, and informative product education.

Our educational venues will be directed to our customers through targeted emails, on-line support, lectures in key retail environments, and through our bi-annual IfHI Symposia and Certification. IfHI is one of the best ways to get grounded in the fundamental principles of the blood type diet, individuality, and nutritional genomics. Every two years we bring together the leading authorities in naturopathic medicine and research to share their concepts, their work, and how this can influence our health profiles and provide tools for enhancing the quality of our lives. This year’s IfHI event, Metabolic Profiling of the Individual, features new research in post-genomic programming and a view of the Epigenic Landscape from Dr. Peter D'Adamo, Dr. Walter Crinnion and his continuing work in the field of environmental medicine, and Dr. Emily Kane and her important work in exploring gender as an expression of individuality and polymorphism. We will also be joined by Dr. Tom Greenfield, who will review the human genome, and distill from the millions of genetic variations those that significantly impact our health profiles, and Dr. Gregory Kelly, who will present his work on enhancing individual expression in a world dominated by cultural sameness. We are also thrilled to have legendary lectin researcher, Dr. Gerhard Uhlenbruck join us from Germany to share his work on the evolution of “personalized medicine.”

It is an exciting program, and I encourage you all to join us. Whether you’ll want to certify as a Fellow or Master of the Institute or you’d like to attend solely for your personal growth and development, you won’t want to miss out on this dynamic weekend. For more information on the conference, click here or call NAP Customer Service at 1-203-761-0042.

I would like to take a moment and acknowledge how much I appreciate your continued support. Your satisfaction is our utmost priority, and I have found your customer comments enormously helpful as we continue to refine our operations. Thanks to all of you who have taken the time to check in, and I look forward to continuing to find ways to enhance our operations and customer satisfaction.